Monday, July 28, 2014

Some very smart people in DC have told me in the past that the real problem in DC is this, far more than partisanship, congressional gridlock or inept and incapacitated elected officials:

The revolving door is turning quickly in 2014, with more than 220 Capitol Hill staffers leaving their jobs to become registered lobbyists in the first six months of the year, according to a new report.

Legistorm, an organization that compiles and analyzes congressional data, reported that the number of departures to K Street in 2014 is on pace to exceed the last election year of 2012, when about 329 staffers left to go lobby.

Headhunters said a number of factors explain the jump, including a “brain drain” of ambitious aides who are frustrated by the legislative gridlock.

“I think they're seeing the reality of Congress today and the inability to get things done, which leads them to seek other alternatives — which, by the way, includes less hours and higher pay,” said Ivan Adler, a principal at The McCormick Group.

“People work on the Hill because they truly believe they can make a difference, and they join the legislative branch to do so. However, I think there is a lot of frustration with the inability to get things done that is driving people away from this mission,” he added.

That's a nice cover story. But the truth for most of them is that they're cashing in the chips they won over time after the lobbyists visited their offices and told them what a "bright future" they had and handed them their card saying to look them up when they decided to leave government service. I think we can all see the implicit bribe in that can't you?